same temptations, different take

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4 months, 4 holidays, 4 ever alone

Every year I manage to be sick for Thanksgiving- great tradition right?! Anyway, that’s not going to keep me from being thankful for all that I have been blessed with. And it won’t keep me from writing this Nyquil induced post either so let’s gooooo.

This is the worst time of the year if you are single. Seriously. You have 4 months of 4 great holidays and no one to share them with. I think it can be easy to forget that you’re single the other months, especially living in Florida. Come on- you can just go to the beach everyday and still feel perfectly content- am I right?! But these four months can be pretty brutal. I don’t know about you, but I absolutely LOVE holidays, so for me, they can be especially hard when you are single. November, December, January, February- the no-dating time for guys and the prime dating time for girls. Each month holds a significant holiday that is more meaningful when shared with someone you love. With today being Thanksgiving and while some of you may be feeling alone, I thought I would send out a little encouragement to help you get through the holidays.

November- Thanksgiving. This can be tough, especially if you have a bunch of family asking about when you will settle down. But the cool thing about Thanksgiving is that it allows you the time to reflect on what you do have and forget about what you don’t. For this one day, I cannot stress the importance enough to focus on what you are thankful for. We all have our different challenges and battles to fight and it can be easy to feel bad about what’s lacking in your life. I find myself getting made at myself if I start to get whiny. If you ate today and are able to read this, you are doing better than most of the world. Just think about that. Our society is so good at getting us to compare our lives with those who *appear* to have no problems. We see the happy family picture on facebook, but don’t see the fights behind the scenes. The couple on the brink of divorce, the family who just lost their child, the father who just lost his job. If you do one thing today, make a list of everything you are thankful for and keep it as a reminder when you are tempted to feel bad. Some of the things on my list include a loving family who mean the world to me, past relationships that taught me more about myself, my freedom to worship God and say how I feel, God’s faithfulness when I let Him down, and the ability to love more even when it hurts.

December- Christmas. Christmas is tough for me because I love giving gifts, watching Christmas movies by the fire, and going to see all the Christmas lights. But the truth is, you can still do all of these things for the people in your life even if you don’t have a significant other. What’s so wonderful about this holiday-it’s my favorite one too- is the fact that we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus. And honestly, if your think about Jesus, His story, and how much He loves you it is extremely difficult to be sad. It’s only when we take the focus off of others and put it on ourselves that we start to get depressed. So for Christmas this year, why don’t we focus on different unique ways that we may be able to bless others, while asking God to change our hearts to see things the way He does.

January- New Years.Okay, now we are getting to the more romantic holidays and there is just something great about ringing in the new year with someone special. However, this is a prime time to do some personal reflection. I always enjoy spending this time looking back at the previous year and thinking about everything that happened. If you couldn’t tell, I’m a journaler (apparently that is not a real word, oh well). I love to write and look back and see how much I have grown through the years. I often get so busy with life that I fail to see all I have accomplished, as well. During this time, I think about the year ahead, I think about regrets and things I’d like to change. I think New Year resolutions get a bad rap. While I think we should always be growing and reflecting, this an excellent time to break bad habits or start something beneficial. Once again, it’s hard to think about the new year’s kiss you are missing if you are thinking about the impact you will make in the upcoming year and thanking God for another year He has blessed you with. I can’t wait to see what some of my goals and resolutions will be for 2015! Don’t worry, I shall shareJ

February- Valentines. Blah. I love this holiday and I generally always spend it single. I simply cannot wait to spend this day with someone who loves me and someone I love. But until then, I will still love this sappy holiday and be grateful for all the couples that can enjoy this over commercialized day. People say you should show your love everyday and while I agree, I will take any opportunity I can to show my love for someone special. You can go ahead and call me a hopeless romantic. But let’s not forget that this holiday is about love and just because we don’t have a significant other doesn’t mean we can’t show love to others. This is a great day to express your love to those that may need it most through random acts of kindness. Ask God to show you who one person who needs His love this Valentine’s Day and seek to be blessing to them. Our lives our short- don’t get so caught up in the future and how you feel things should be that you miss out on the wonderful opportunities today.

I don’t want to diminish the fact that it can be difficult to navigate the holidays being single. The truth of the matter is we can all be in a relationship if we wanted. But we have standards. And we aren’t willing to settle. I know these times can have their difficult moments but we can make them better if we choose to focus on the positive rather than the negative. I am so thankful for the opportunity to share my thoughts and feelings with you all.:)